There are provided with a video recording apparatus and a scene change extraction method, by which a scene change can be extracted from a video while recording the video. The video recording apparatus 100 includes an encoder 101 for encoding video data PIN, an HDD 105 for storing an encoded stream outputted from the encoder 101, a stream controller 103 for transferring the encoded stream outputted from the encoder 101 to the HDD 105, a scene change extractor 110 for decoding the encoded stream outputted from the encoder 101 and extracting a scene change in the decoded video data, and a recording controller 102 for receiving an encoding-completion notification IEN on a unit-of-encoding basis of the encoded stream from the encoder 101 and outputting a scene change extraction instruction CSC to the scene change extractor 110.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A video audio recording apparatus comprising: a record means which records an encoded stream of a video and an audio; a stream hold means which temporarily stores the encoded stream before recording the encoded stream in the record means; an image-change-point detection means which detects a scene change from video data of the encoded stream stored in the stream hold means; a silence detection means which detects a silence and a time length of the silence from an audio signal; a temporary storage means which temporarily holds the scene change information detected by the image-change-point detection means and the silence information detected by the silence detection means; a changeover-point detection means which detects a changeover-point, at which both the scene change and the silence occur at the same time from the scene change information and the silence information held by the temporary storage means; a CM-broadcast-period determination means which judges a particular period of time when two or more potential CMs are successively detected as a CM broadcast period, each potential CM being an interval between two successive changeover-points detected by the changeover-point detection means which coincides with one of a plurality of predetermined CM reference times, wherein: an interval between two successive changeover-points coincides with a predetermined CM reference time by falling within a predetermined range whose mean value equals the predetermined CM reference time, and for a changeover-point that separates two successively-detected potential CMs within the particular period of time, the CM-broadcast-period determination means compares the detected silence time length of the changeover-point to a prescribed silence time range separating CMs, and performs the following based on the comparison: judges that the changeover-point separates two CMs if the detected silence time length is within the prescribed silence time range, and judges that the changeover-point separates a CM from a main program if the detected silence time length is not within the prescribed silence time range; and a CM-broadcast-period-information record means which records time information of the CM broadcast period determined by the CM-broadcast-period determination means.
2. The video audio recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein: in a case where a plurality of the changeover-points are detected within the predetermined time range, the central part of which is the predetermined reference period of time used by the CM-broadcast-period determination means, when an interval between changeover-points judged immediately before by the CM-broadcast-period determination means is longer by a first value than one of the predetermined CM reference times, the CM-broadcast-period determination means preferentially selects a changeover-point, which causes an interval between changeover-points judged next by the CM-broadcast-period determination means to be shorter by the first value than the predetermined CM reference time, as a changeover-point for defining a CM broadcast period, and when an interval between changeover-points judged immediately before by the CM-broadcast-period determination means is shorter by a second value than one of the predetermined CM reference times, the CM-broadcast-period determination means preferentially selects a changeover-point, which causes an interval between changeover-points judged next by the CM-broadcast-period determination means to be longer by the second value than the predetermined CM reference time, as a changeover-point for defining a CM broadcast period.
3. The video audio recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, when a plurality of the changeover-points are detected within a predetermined range whose mean value equals one of the predetermined CM reference times, used by the CM-broadcast-period determination means, the CM-broadcast-period determination means judges a changeover-point, which causes a CM broadcast period judged by the CM-broadcast-period determination means to be closest to an integral multiple of the predetermined CM reference period of time, as a changeover-point for defining a CM broadcast period.
4. A video audio recording method comprising the steps of: recording an encoded stream of a video and an audio in a record means; storing the encoded stream in a stream hold means before recording the encoded stream in the record means; detecting, by an image-change-point detection means, a scene change from video data of the encoded stream stored in the stream hold means; detecting, by a silence detection means, a silence and a time length of the silence from an audio signal; temporarily holding the scene change information detected by the image-change-point detection means and the silence information detected by the silence detection means in a temporary storage means; detecting, by a changeover-point detection means, a changeover-point, at which both the scene change and the silence occur at the same time from the scene change information and the silence information held by the temporary storage means; judging, by a CM-broadcast-period determination means, a particular period of time when two or more potential CMs are successively detected as a CM broadcast period, each potential CM being an interval between two successive changeover-points detected by the changeover-point detection means which coincides with one of a plurality of predetermined CM times, wherein: an interval between two successive changeover-points coincides with a predetermined reference time by falling within a predetermined range whose mean value equals the predetermined CM reference time, and for a changeover-point that separates two successively-detected potential CMs within the particular period of time, the detected silence time length is compared to a prescribed silence time range separating CMs, and the following is performed based on the comparison: the changeover-point is judged to separate tow CMs if the detected silence time length is within the prescribed silence time range, and the changeover-point is judged to separate a CM from a main program if the detected silence time length is not within the prescribed silence time range; and recording time information of the CM broadcast period determined by the CM-broadcast-period determination means in a CM-broadcast-period-information record means.
5. The video audio recording method according to claim 4 , wherein: in a case where a plurality of the changeover-points are detected within the predetermined time range, the central part of which is the predetermined reference period of time used by the CM-broadcast-period determination means, when an interval between changeover-points judged immediately before by the CM-broadcast-period determination means is longer by a first value than one of the predetermined CM reference times, the CM-broadcast-period determination means preferentially selects a changeover-point, which causes an interval between changeover-points judged next by the CM-broadcast-period determination means to be shorter by the first value than the CM reference time, as a changeover-point for defining a CM broadcast period, and when an interval between changeover-points judged immediately before by the CM-broadcast-period determination means is shorter by a second value than one of the predetermined CM reference times, the CM-broadcast-period determination means preferentially selects a changeover-point, which causes an interval between changeover-points judged next by the CM-broadcast-period determination means to be longer by the second value than the predetermined CM reference time, as a changeover-point for defining a CM broadcast period.
6. The video audio recording method according to claim 4 , wherein, when a plurality of the changeover-points are detected within a predetermined range whose mean value equals one of the predetermined CM reference times, used by the CM-broadcast-period determination means, the CM-broadcast-period determination means judges a changeover-point, which causes a CM broadcast period judged by the CM-broadcast-period determination means to be closest to an integral multiple of the predetermined CM reference time, as a changeover-point for defining a CM broadcast period.
7. The video audio recording method according to claim 4 , wherein, in the step of recording time information of the CM broadcast period in the CM broadcast period record means, when the changeover-points in the CM broadcast period detected by the CM-broadcast-period determination means does not include a changeover-point with a detected silence time length within a second prescribed silence time range, the CM broadcast period determined is not recorded in the CM broadcast period record means.
8. The video audio recording method according to claim 4 , wherein, in the step of judging the CM broadcast period, a period of time until a changeover-point that occurred last, of the changeover-points detected within a prescribed period of time from a start of recording of a stream by the changeover-point detection means is judged as the CM broadcast.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
March 17, 2006
November 11, 2014
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